Car top carrier with side loading device



1954 c. NIELSEN CAR TOP CARRIER WITH SIDE LOADING DEVICE Filed Oct. 28, 1950 INVENTOR. 02am J W, B!"

mwwflm Patented Feb. 9,1954

GAB; TQJI OAMQIEI; W TH. SIDELQAQ NG EVICE,

Ghester I2 Nielsen, West Bend, Wis assignorwto We sbar Stamping Germination, West Bend, W s, ac xncrat cmo W s ns n Application October 28, 1950; Seriah 151e, 192,:2QQ

This: invention relates to improvements: in.- car topcarriers with side loading-devices;

There are: available-.- for detachable mounting on. the metal tops of mobiles; carriers. de-. signed to. have mountec ereon: for-transporta.-. tion; heavy, bulky and: unwieldy objects: such as. boats: and: the like... In, the Piisncr' Paten No- 2:,.4:69,9.87. therei tdieclosed a. cartop carrierof this, type equipped with a, rear transverse when to facilitate the loadingand unloading: of a bulky-r object: such as a; boat; entaor f th c r ier from the rear of; the automcbiler While h aficrement ned ype of. rear loadin r ller for a. an top arrier is; entirely satisfactory for auto mcbiles which d not: have un uly xtended ea walls or; compartments, it h s een; f und that: with respect to some of the more recent. automobile models otthe sci-call d cur back. Or "iet-back. styles it; extreme y d f icu t nd awkward toattempt teload; car t p ca rier f-rqnr he rear of: the. autemcbila.

With. he f r o n m 3. t is. a ltd-nar object of the present. inyen an o p q i le a car ton carrier with a side loadina-deric swbereby abu i sr i t s e-1r as a. boat orthe like may be. cam n n y a d or unloaded relative to he cartop carrier from the side of: the car.

A fu t r i ct f. the invention s.- ta crew-ids. a. side loading device: for a; cartop, carrier; which Side loading d viceis; readily attachable. t or removable from a ccnvcntional car ton carrierand may be au-xi1iarythereto.

A iurther object of the inventicn is; to prance in combination with the transverse. supportingbars of a cartop carrier, a Side,- loading roller adapted o e. chably asso at d with one Pair of ends or the car top a rier bars and: which pr j ts substantially y nd the rear transverse bar of the car t p rri r to thereby provide a side loading roller of gre ter length than the width of a heavy bulky objec such as a csmv n-- tional rowboat.

A further object. of the invention is to provide a side loading device for car top carriers which is very easy to associate with or disconnect from a car top carrier, which facilitates the loading and unloadin of a bulky object, such as a boat relative to a car top carrier, and which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install.

A further object of the inventionv is to provide a car top carrierwith a side loading device which is of very simple construction, which is strong and durable and eiiicient in operation, which is neat and attractive in appearance, and which is well adapted for the purposes set forth.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of the car top. carrier with side loading device, and its parts and combinations as set forth in the claims, and all equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawing in which the same reference characters indicate the same parts inaliof the vi-awsz; A

Big. 1 is a perspective view oi an automobile having-mounted on its metal top a car top carrier equipped with the improved side lqadingdevice, there being a broken line showingor a boat being loaded from the side;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective ViBW' of the car top carrier with the side loading device in relation to the top of an automobile; parts being-broken away and shqwn in section;

Fig. 3 is an enlargedi ragmentaryside view'of" the roller carryin braclget by which the front end of the roller i rernov-ably attached to the front crossbar of the car; top arr-ier; and- Fig; 4 is an enlarged fiaagrnentarydetail section'al viewtaken on line 4 or Fig. 2- showing the bracket for attachinga portion ofthe side loadingrollerto the rear transverse bar of:- the car-top carrier;

Referring to the drawing and more particularlyto Fig. 1, it will be se -er 1 that the presarit inventign isassociated with that type of carrier which is adapted to be detachably mcuntedon the metal top 8 of an automobile 9. The car top carrier per se is of the type which includes a front trans- Verse bar In and a rear transverse bar |l-. Gustomarilythe transverse bars in andl of such carriers are spaced apart-a distance of from about 40 to 44 inches. The transverse bars In and it are prefierablyofa suitable metal in the form of inverted chan he ar icular mbq imerit illustrated, said bars l c ha are attached to the top 8 of the car 9 by means of inverted U-shaped' brackets i2 carrying suction cups Iii. The sides of the transverse bars l0 and I I rest on and are secured to the brackets 12,. To further insure tha securement of the transverse bars IQ and II in proper position on the car top, straps o de ic av hq ss at heir Ou r ends adapted to engage beneath the side gutters of the automobile.

The m rov si e l ad ng d vice adan ca Qr s on w h the. e ement of h car ten. a i described compr es an detec ed metal a t f c r ular i r 1 ress. cq ea and form hr gh ut its hea h, sa e or sh rt a l ter 29 be. me tioned, wi h cuter ack t. t of rubber qqm ositions, or Qt cr mat ri ic l rev nt scratching r dama e. to a article n push d ever h s de .ad ns 1 V108.

The toward. and Qt the, bar I ca ries a stud I 0.11. which ni et y m .nted the. extended ange lit at a tract attach, bracket '8 The tter. il h obs rved tram. i 2 is. in he. form or inverte U and adapts! ta shad enclose an end portion of the front transverse bar I0. Clamping engagement between the 8 adjacent a pair of ends of the transverse bars .7

It and H of the car top carrier. That portion of the metal bar l5 which is adjacent the end of the rear transverse bar H is devoid of the covering material or an outer jacket wherebya reduced cylindrical extent H is provided (see Fig. 2). This reduced cylindrical extent 2| bears in a hook-shaped flange 22 projecting from a rear attaching bracket 23 and is rotatable thereon, the latter being of inverted U-formation to removably fit on the end portion of the rear transverse bar H and being detachably secured thereto by bolts 25 carrying nuts 25. The hooked shaped flange 22, as will be observed from Figs. 2 and 4, embraces the under portion of the roller bar i5 and does not interfere with any object which may be riding on the uppermost surface of the side loading roller.

By virtue of the mounting flanges l8 and 22 of the attaching brackets 18 and 23, the covered roller bar :5 is free to turn or roll with a heavy object supported thereon. Also, the arrangement of the rear mounting bracket 23 and its hooked flange 22 is such that the covered roller bar [5 may extend considerably beyond the rear transverse bar II. This is a very desirable feature in that the side loading roller bar may be ofa suitable length to support and engage a bulky object as wide as a conventional rowboat, the latter being of greater width than the distance between the front and rear transverse bars of a conventional car top carrier.

From the foregoing it will be evident that the conventional car top carrier has removably associated therewith the improved side-loading device which includes the elongated roller bar adapted to extend longitudinally of one side of the automobile top, and the attaching brackets. This side-loading device for a car top carrier finds particular utility in connection with a car top carrier mounted on the top of an automobile of the type which has a long sweep to its rear or rear compartment closure. With automobiles of this type it can be appreciated that it 5 would be very difficult and awkward to attempt to load a bulky object, such as a boat, onto the car top carrier from the rear of the car, as was formerly required. With the present invention, in the loading of a boat, for instance, the same has its prow elevated from the side of the car to a point Where the sidewalls of the boat will rest on the covered roller bar and then by a simple manipulation one person lifting and pushing on the stern of the boat can roll it transversely of the car top a sufiicient distance and when the proper point of balance is reached, the boat or other object is then swung longitudinally of the car top carrier bars Ill and H in the conventional manner, in which position it is secured or made fast. The unloading of a boat or other object from the car top carrier is accomplished in a reverse manner.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the improved car top carrier with side loading device is particularly suited for use with car top carriers mounted on automobiles which might be diificult to load from the rear,

cooperates efiectively with a conventional car top carrier, may be readily connected with or removed from the transverse bars of a car top carrier, and is furthermore simple and compact and well adapted for the purposes set forth.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. A carrier for use in transporting boats or other objects on the tops of automobiles, comprising spaced-apart front and rear transverse bars extending across the automobile top and adapted to have supporting engagement with the article carried, means supporting the bars above and securing them to the automobile top, a loading roller positioned at all times longitudinally of and along one side of the automobile top adjacent a pair of ends of said bars and extending from an end of the front bar substantially beyond the corresponding end of the rear bar to handle a boat or the like which is wider than the distance between said transverse bars,

"' a bracket secured to an end of the front bar,

means journalling the front end of said roller on said bracket, a bracket secured to the'corresponding end of the rear bar, a portion of said roller adjacent the last-mentioned bracket being of reduced diameter, and means carried by the rear bar bracket forming a semi-bearing engaging only the lower peripheral portion of said reduced portion of the roller whereby the upper peripheral portion of the roller in any turned position remains unobstructed to avoid inter ference with an object riding on any portion of said roller,

2. A carrier for use in transporting a rowboat on the top of an automobile, comprising front and rear transverse bars extending across the automobiie top and adapted to have supporting engagement with the boat carried, the distance between said front and rear transverse bars being less than the distance between the gunwales of the boat at the widest point, means supporting the bars above and securing them to the automobile top, brackets fixedly secured to a corresponding end of each bar, and a roller rotatably supported by said brackets for rotation about its own axis and lying at all times at right angles to said bars, one end portion of said roller extending a substantial distance rearwardly of the rear transverse bar and said roller being of a greater length than the widest transverse dimension of the boat initially engaged by the roller prior to being directed and turned onto the transverse bars, the roller supporting bracket carried by the rear transverse bar rotatably engaging an intermediate portion of the roller on the underside thereof to avoid interference with any portion of an engaged boat riding on the upper surface of the roller.

CHESTER. I. NIELSEN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Switzerland Nov. 17, 194i 

